Game of Love (26 page)

Dex rolled his eyes. “My hair is shorter than Sage’s.”

“Maybe, but that’s not saying much,” Rush said as he and Kurt came to greet them. Rush had always kept his hair on the shorter side. He said it was easier when he was on the slopes, and as a competitive skier, he spent half his life on the slopes.

“Rush, Kurt, jeez. I haven’t seen you guys in forever.” Dex hugged them both.

Kurt was the quietest of the Remington crew. As a writer, he tended to observe the banter rather than spark new conversations. Dex watched him now with his thick dark hair and serious eyes and realized that he was very much like Ellie.

“You guys remember Ellie.” He kept one hand on Ellie’s back as they each pulled her into a hug. Dex hadn’t ever thought about how his family had openly embraced one another, but watching them bring Ellie into their family fold brought that to the forefront. Remarkably, Ellie didn’t shy away from the intimate gestures. And when she flashed her eyes in his direction, he saw relief. He made a silent note in his mind of another freight-train-like impact Ellie had on his heart at that very moment. Her relief spoke volumes of her love for him and how far she’d come.

“I think Ellie brings you good luck, son.” His father wore a starched blue button-down shirt and dress slacks—always dress slacks. He patted Dex on the back with a proud smile. “She was there all those years ago while you developed that first indie game you released right after high school, and here she is again, the morning after another groundbreaking release.”

Before embracing Dex, his father reached out to Ellie, and the gesture squeezed Dex’s heart.

“Come on, little bro.” Sage put his arm around Dex and walked him to the bar, away from the others. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Dex peered around him and was glad to see Ellie beside Siena and Savannah, looking at pictures on Savannah’s phone.

“I’m proud of you, with the game and all.”

“Thanks.”

“Listen, Mom told me that you know I spilled the beans to her about Ellie four years ago. I’m sorry. I was worried and thought she might have some words of wisdom.” Sage met Dex’s gaze with an apologetic look.

Dex couldn’t stay mad at Sage. “Whatever. No worries. What’d she say to you? Back then, I mean, because she never said a word to me.”

Sage ran his hand through his thick, wavy hair. “She said,
Sometimes love hurts
, and told me not to try to talk you out of your feelings for Ellie.”

Dex nodded. “You know, maybe Mom really is the smartest woman on earth.”

“Don’t let Ellie hear you say that.”

They joined the others and sat at the tables that had been pushed together in the rear of the bar, where a buffet-style lunch had been set up. Dex leaned around Ellie and tapped Regina on the shoulder. “Reg, I can’t believe you arranged all this. Thank you.”

She held her finger above Mitch’s head and pointed down at him. “He helped.”

“Yeah, well, someone had to do the heavy lifting,” Mitch said.

Regina rolled her eyes. “He means pushing the tables together.” She laughed and shoved Mitch. “I could have done it myself.”

“Well, thanks. I’m glad you got everyone together.” Dex squeezed Regina’s hand. “We have a lot to celebrate.”

As they filled their plates, Jack rose to his feet. “I want to propose a toast.”

Their mother gasped a breath. “You’re getting married!”

Jack laughed. “Maybe you can let me finish?”

His mother gasped. “Oh, Jack. Really?”

Savannah reached across the table. “No. He’s pulling your leg.” She swatted Jack.

“You’ll be the first to know, Mom. I promise.” Jack lifted his glass of orange juice. “To our little brother for his overnight success.”

The game had released at midnight, and Dex and Ellie had stayed up watching the number of sales climb higher than Dex had ever imagined; then they’d celebrated by making love, eventually falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Everyone clinked glasses, and Jack continued. “And to Ellie, for getting the approval to write the grant proposal. We’re proud of you, Ellie.”

Ellie blushed. “How did you know?”

Sage leaned forward from the other end of the table. “You’ll learn that the Remington grapevine moves swiftly, Ellie. If you want to keep something a secret, then you can’t tell any of us. We suck at secrets.”

She shot a look at Dex. “That’s okay. I think I’m done with secrets anyway.”

“God, I love you,” he whispered.

Kurt surprised them all when he stood and raised his glass. “And to our little brother for finally…
finally
coming together with the one woman we all knew he’d end up with.”

Dex looked down the table at his siblings all nodding and smiling, raising their glasses. Except Siena, whose lip stuck out in a serious pout.

“Really? Everyone knew except me?” Siena shook her head. “I’m your twin, Dex. How could I not know?”

“Maybe Dex’s twin powers blocked you from knowing,” Kurt mused.

“Save it for your novels,” Siena snapped.

“Siena, I didn’t know anyone knew about how I felt about Ellie. Hell, I didn’t know how real it was myself. How could you all know?” Ellie’s cheeks flushed, and Dex drew her close.

“Oh, please.” Rush laughed. “You two used to look at each other and not speak. It was like you had this secret silent language. If only we could harness it and I could read the minds of my competitors.”

Ellie bit her lip and looked down at their interlaced fingers.

Dex leaned in close. “You okay? Is this too much?”

She shook her head. “It’s true. You’re all I’ve always wanted.”

The End

THICK BRANCHES SCRAPED the sides of the all-wheel-drive passenger van as it ambled along the narrow dirt road that divided the dense, unforgiving jungle. Sage Remington started as a mass of giant leaves slapped against the grit-covered window. Plumes of dust billowed in their wake, swallowing the road, and Sage wondered if they were really heading toward civilization or away from it. The van keeled to the left, sending Sage and the other passengers flying across their seats as the bus rocked back to center and found its balance. Sage had never experienced anything like the trek to the remote village of Punta Palacia, and as he listened to the other passengers bitch and moan, he turned a deaf ear—and focused his artist’s eyes on the verdant jungle which boasted some of the most vibrant and interesting hues he’d ever seen. He’d been living in the concrete jungle of New York City for the past five years and rarely had a chance to venture beyond the streets, offices, and subways. When he’d heard about Artists for International Aid (AIA), a nonprofit organization that brought educational, medical, and environmental programs to newly developing nations, he’d immediately volunteered to be a part of one of their two-week projects.

“This is such bullshit. Belize, my agent said to me.” Actress Penelope Price gathered her long blond hair in her hand and pulled it over her shoulder, fanning her face with an exhaustive sigh. “Think beautiful beaches and sunshine, she said.” After some fancy twisting and poking of a long, gold needlelike thing, she looked as if she were ready for the red carpet—or at least her hair was. The rest of her body—and her legs, which were long enough to wrap around any man’s waist twice—glistened with sweat. “My Chanel is ruined!”

Sage shook his head at her Oscar-worthy performance. AIA worked with artists and celebrity volunteers, and as he listened to Penelope bitch, he wondered why she’d even volunteered for the project. He pulled a bandana from the pocket of his cargo shorts and wiped his forehead, which had long ago stopped beading with sweat and succumbed to the drenching wetness caused by the heat and humidity of southern Belize. Despite the sweat-soaked tank top clinging to his body like a second skin and the bitchy prima donnas he was traveling with, he didn’t regret his decision.

“Stop your bitching,” Clayton Ray snapped. Clayton was a country music star and—from what Sage had witnessed at the airport and during the long flight over—an asshole extraordinaire. “You’ll have air-conditioning when we get there.”

Sage hid his laugh behind a cough.
AC, my ass.
At least he knew what he was getting into. Apparently, the others hadn’t been clued in to the realities of Punta Palacia. Sage was looking forward to the simplistic lifestyle, braving the heat and humidity of the jungle, and maybe, just maybe, figuring out why the hell a man who had enough money to buy half of New York, and a career doing what he loved most, felt so damn empty inside.

“All I can say is that if there’s no air-conditioning, I’m heading back to Belize City. Pronto.” Cassidy Bay, a B-list actress, dabbed at her streaked eyeliner. “I can’t sleep in this weather, and without sleep, my eyes will be puffy.”

Penelope whipped her head around to commiserate. “We can do that? Then why didn’t we just stay there?”

Sage had been distracted and rushed when they boarded the van at the landing strip, and he had caught only a glimpse of Kate Paletto, the program director for AIA. He was six four and guessed she was about five foot two and weighed a buck ten soaking wet. He hadn’t gotten a good look at her face, but as she led them through to the van, he couldn’t help but notice her slim hips and sleek, feminine arms. Although from his seat in the second row, he could make out only her long, silky dark hair, he had a clear shot of her hand as it gripped the armrest so tightly her knuckles turned white. He wondered if it was from the banter or the bumpy ride.

“No, Penelope. We talked about this, remember?” Luce Palmer, Penelope’s public relations specialist, sat in the back of the van. She was known in entertainment circles for being a hard-nosed negotiator, and most notably, for being able to turn around any celebrity’s bad reputation. “You’re here to rectify the damage you caused to your image. This is two weeks of…hardship to show you care about people other than yourself.”

Hardship?
Hell, Sage would relish being away from the stress and distraction of New York City. He worked late into most nights on his artwork and rarely even heard the phone when it rang. Maybe being away would help him to pay attention to other, more important things, too, and help him to not get so lost in his work. Spending two weeks in Punta Palacia seemed like the opposite of a hardship to him.

Kate turned in her seat, flashing vibrant blue eyes, dark lashes, and the softest-looking skin he’d ever seen.
The face of an angel
.
Jesus, where did that cliché come from?

“I still don’t see why I couldn’t have gone on a vacation someplace else and gotten the same publicity,” Penelope said to Luce.

“Because you’re here for humanitarian purposes, not a vacation.” Kate spoke with the confidence of a seasoned drill sergeant. Her harsh tone contrasted sharply with her soft features, giving her a good-girl, bad-girl vibe that she appeared to be completely oblivious to—and that Sage could not ignore.

Sage had come to Belize with a plan. His artwork commanded six figures, earning him a fine living and drowning him in feelings of unease. He’d always felt a desire to give back to the community, but no matter how much money he gave to charities, or how many hours he volunteered in New York City, he still felt hollow, as if, in the grand scheme of life, nothing he did made a difference. He hoped that experiencing a different type of giving back, in a country that wasn’t so gluttonous, might spark a deeper level of fulfillment. And now that he’d smelled the humid jungle air and drank in the passing beauty of the jungle, an idea was coming to him—and a woman wasn’t part of the plan. Not even a woman as beautiful and intriguing as Kate.

A whisper of a thought floated to the forefront of his mind while the others bitched and plotted about their
predicament
. Instead of just donating money, he could paint the local landscape and the people and send those paintings back to New York to be sold. The profits could come back to Punta Palacia. Surely they could use the money, and he couldn’t imagine anything being more fulfilling than doing what he loved for a bigger purpose. A few pieces each year could bring significant funds for areas that needed it much more than he did. His pulse kicked up as the idea took hold.

“Well, this is
not
what I signed up for, so we’ll just see about this,” Penelope snapped.

Cassidy made a
tsk
sound and turned away.

The vehicle was taller and wider than a typical passenger van, with a narrow aisle dividing two rows of seats. Kate rose to her feet, clutching a clipboard against her small but perfect breasts. “This is exactly what you signed up for,” she said to Penelope.

Clayton’s leg stretched across the aisle like he owned it, and he made no attempt to mask his leering. His eyes took a slow, hungry stroll down Kate’s body. Sage’s muscles twitched. The guy was the epitome of the status-driven celebrities Sage sorely disliked. Entitled. Motivated by money and fame, he used people like pawns and stepped on anyone who got in his way with no regard for their feelings.